Strollerderby : technology

Morning News - Palm Pre Launch Date Announced

Brett Singer — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:00:00 GMT

This is important to a lot of people, although it isn't IMPORTANT in the way that, say, something important is important. Know what I mean? Anyway, the long awaited, much hyped, and often blogged about Palm Pre will be available for our greedy little fingers on... timpani, please... June 6. Of this year. What's a Palm Pre, you ask? A new cell phone that may or may not be better than the iPhone:

If you want the phone you'll have to sign up for Sprint, which could be a deal breaker for me. I had Sprint for home phone service in college, and they used to do the following: send a bill every two months, then charge late fees because I was a month late. This happened for a year until I finally switched to something else. (This was back before everyone had a cell phone, and land lines were more important. Thus endeth the history lesson.) I realize this was not, as they say, last Tuesday, but from what I've heard, Sprint's service is still only so-so. So... we'll see.

Now, on to really really REALLY important news -- "Ghostbusters 3" may start filming this Winter, according to Dan Aykroyd. According to the L.A. Times and Entertainment Weekly,"the franchise film is expected to feature a 'new generation' of ghostbusters." So its like the new "Star Trek." Well, more like the new "Get Smart." Which isn't nearly as cool, but I guess it's OK. My kids loved the first movie, as do I of course, but I doubt this new one will be any good. Money, though, it will make. You heard it here first. In a semi-related story, wrestler John Cena quoted the original film recently, saying "It's chaos, the sky will fall. Cats and dogs living together." Not an exact quote, but pretty close. That will likely be the only time you will ever see me talk about "pro" wrestling in Morning News. I promise.

Anyone else think that the state of California is just plain weird? Not to be a judgmental New Yorker, but it seems like there's always something wacky going on way out West. For example: "California voting on budget crisis measures," sayeth CNN. Again, not saying everything on the East Coast is peaches and cream. But we rarely have mudslides, and we don't have ballot propositions. Also, our governor has never played Mr. Freeze in a movie. "It's going to be a cold time on the old town tonight." Really, Arnold? Really?

Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, wants fellow GOPers to "attack" President Obama more often. Classy. Steele, who publicly apologized to Rush Limbaugh back in March, also said that "Obama's first several months [were] 'a reign of error'" and "that the Republican 'renaissance has begun.'" Not to be partisan, but how do you figure? Even a Republican friend of mine -- OK, it's my dentist -- said that we've got to give Obama more than a few months before we decide what kind of job he's doing. Seems reasonable to me. Of course, one person's "reasonable" is another person's "wimpy."

Speaking of President Obama, some people are not letting his spech at Notre Dame go without a fight, or at least a lot of fire and brimstone. Father Jonathan Morris is very upset at the President, and at Notre Dame for giving him an honorary degree. Because really, when you think about it, the biggest problem in the world today is the fact that our Democratically elected President believes that abortion, which is already legal, should stay legal. What a radical.

Remember Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse? Doesn't ring any bells? He was the kid -- they think he's a teenager, so I can call him a kid -- from Somalia who was caught and charged with piracy. PIRACY. Not downloading "Wolverine" piracy. Not fun Johnny Depp "argh, Mateys" piracy. ACTUAL piracy. On the high seas. Crazy. He's in New York now (I guess we do have some weird stuff here) and has been indicted on charges 10 counts, "including piracy and conspiracy to seize a ship by force and to take hostages," according to the New York Times. What must be going through his mind? Doesn't speak the language, probably only sort of knows what the heck is happening. Very odd.

Last but not least, a nice little NYC story. A newspaper seller was handed an envelope with $1000 cash in it. There was also a note that said, "From Chris and George." The paperman, Jerome Kabore (pictured above), has no idea who Chris and George are. He started wearing a sign that says "Thank you so much Chris and George," just in case whoever it is comes back. Read the whole story here, it's nice.

Morning News - Astronauts Watch Star Trek In Space

Homebirthing Advocate's Baby Dies During Homebirth

Mom Puts 9 Year Old Girl On Craigs List For Revenge

Boy Accidentally Shoots Self With Forgotten Gun

Hey Look! Mom Is On The Net!

Brett Singer — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:00:00 GMT

In various outlets (OK, mostly just VH1) people express their nostalgia for the 90's.

But music and movies aren't the only thing from the Whatever Decade (I just made that up) to get all misty-eyed about. There's also the commercials. Like this one.

It's not clear what is being advertised. But one thing's for sure -- these moms know all about technology!

You have to hang in there until the end of the video, when some random long-haired guy arrives. Just trust me on this one.

Source: Buzzfeed Via Everything Is Terrible (Or maybe it's the other way around. I get confused by all this WWW Dot Com Stuff.)

A Really Graphic Homebirth

We're Not Judging You, Pinky Swear

Did This Woman Commit Suicide Because She Couldn't Breastfeed?

10 Year Old Burned By Tanning Bed

Meet The Robot Teacher

Brett Singer — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Some kids may joke that their teachers are so weird, they must be from another planet.

For some elementary school kids in Japan, they wouldn't be too far off.

Saya is a robot and she/it is teaching this elementary school class.

Here's a really creepy video of the... thing in action:

(For a less jokey take on the story, check out this video from MSNBC.)

Here's the thing. I get that technology can make our lives easier. (Freudian slip: I typed "teachnology" my mistake, which I thought wasn't a word but I guess it is, at least according to Google.) But teachers shouldn't be robots. Or is that robots shouldn't be teachers? Certain jobs would be okay I suppose, although in an economy like this one, any job taken away from humans seems like a bad thing. But teachers? Really? Doesn't that imply that the job is nothing more than a glorified baby sitter?

According to the embedded video, which is a bit cheeky, the purpose of the TeachBot 9000 (my name, not theirs) is to "get kids excited about technology." The MSNBC clip says that Saya started out "her life" as a "robot receptionist" and that she/it "isn't meant to take jobs away from real teachers, but could fill in in a pinch for understaffed schools." They say that she 'bot has the kids "undivided attention." Frankly, I think they look a little scared.

Would you want your children to be taught -- or whatever that thing is doing -- by a robot?

Source: Gizmodo via Telegraph, MSNBC

10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Japanese Potty Training Video

7 Year Old Boy Forcibly Tattooed By Father

Boy Accidentally Shoots Self With Forgotten Gun

Morning News - Pirates Make a Mistake

Brett Singer — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:00:00 GMT

They might be terror on the high seas, but that doesn't make them smart. A group of pirates mistook a French military ship for a commercial vessel and attacked. (The CNN story actually uses the word "oops.") The French Navy captured 11 of the scalywags. Despite the fact that these stories are in no way amusing, I'm finding it difficult not to make bad pirate jokes. Avast, me hearties! That sort of thing. I know it's wrong but I'm still getting used to the idea of modern-day pirates. I'll get there eventually.

Amazon may release a new Kindle with a larger screen. This could be good news for newspapers who seem to be losing more money every single day. As Jeanne points out, they could also be used for textbooks. Would you read on a screen if it were big enough? I think the barrier is price. The current Kindle is priced at $359, which is much less than it used to be, but still kind of expensive for mainstream use.

The S&P 500 "jumped", moving into positive territory for the year. Not to be an eternal pessimist, but it's only May. Don't get me wrong. I'll take whatever positive news I can get about the stock market. But I think I'll keep the champagne on ice for a few more months, you know what I mean?

Speaking of money, President Obama wants to collect more tax revenue from money that is being kept in offshore accounts. I've never understood how this is legal. Don't you have to pay taxes where you earn the money, not where you keep it? And if a company does business in another country, but they're based in the United States, shouldn't they pay U.S. taxes? As you can see, I don't know the answer to these questions. Maybe the flat tax is a good idea. Wait, forget I said that.

Oh, the virus formerly known as swine flu? We're not scared anymore. But it could come back with a vengeance. But don't panic. Just keep washing your hands. A lot. Got that?

Take that, Apple! The Blackberry Curve is outselling the iPhone. Maybe. But the people with iPhones are sooo much cooler. Just ask them. (No offense meant if you have an iPhone and like or even love it. It's just that Apple fanatics can be fairly annoying, as this NSFW page deftly illustrates - click to read it, but I warned you.)

Remember Mitt Romney? Ran for President? Supported gay marriage until he didn't? He, sadly, does not seem to have gone away. He also gave a little dig to Sarah Palin, at least according to the Boston Globe. When asked about Sarah Palin being on Time Magazine's list of "The World’s Most Influential People", Romney said, "I think there are a lot more influential Republicans than that would suggest. But was that the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people? I'm not sure. If it's the most beautiful, I understand. We're not real cute." Which I suppose was meant to imply that Palin is getting by on her looks. Or something. The Globe points out that Romney, despite saying that he doesn't think of himself as "cute", "was on People magazine's list of 50 beautiful Americans in 2002." This is why I don't like him. He seems not to care at all if what he's saying is true. As a commenter at Boston.com puts it: "Multiple choice Mitt, pull his string and he'll tell you just what you want to hear."

And finally, something that I know we've all been very concerned about lately. Janet Jackson's breast. The Supreme Court told an appeals court to reconsider their ruling on "Nipplegate", meaning that CBS may have to pay a $550,000 fine after all. Well, thank goodness. I thought those criminals were going to get off scot-free. We cannot expose our children to such filth! Especially not during the Super Bowl. They need more time to show ads for beer and Viagra.

Image: Amazon

Morning News - Obama Loves Google

Brett Singer — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Hello and welcome to Morning News! We're giving Madeline a break, so I'll be your Morning Newser for today. Let's get right to it, shall we?

President Obama wants good advice about science and technology and stuff. After that sentence, I think we all know that he isn't picking me to sit on that panel. He did, however, ch-ch-choose Eric Schmidt, the CEO of some little startup called Google. I think they might have a web site or something. Not sure.

In sports news, Michael "Dogs? What dogs?" Vick is releasing a revised bankruptcy plan today. A judge rejected the plan his lawyers presented, which had Mike asking to keep "multiple houses, multiple cars, and a Ms. Pacman video game" according to ProFootballTalk.com. Vick was a talented athlete but a complete moron. He blew through most of his money and then went to jail for dogfighting, thus losing his lucrative NFL contract. He may come back and play again, but I doubt he'll get the same paycheck that he had before. Trivia moment: Vick's contract is still the highest any NFL player has ever signed. He never got all of the money, of course, but it was still a record contract.

The United Auto Workers may own 55% of Chrysler when all the wheeling (no pun intended) and dealing is done. Does that make them management? Can you stil be "labor" if you own the company?

This swine flu thing gets worse and worse. MSNBC is reporting that some folks in Mexico who had the virus were turned away by doctors. Nice. "Country faces criticism for seemingly slow, confused response to outbreak," according to MSNBC.com. How hard is it to treat sick people? OK, we don't always do such a good job of that in this country. Well, better than Mexico. I hope.

Speaking of swine flu, SuperEco has a list of ways to protect yourself... naturally. (You need to say "naturally" in a breathy voice to get the full effect of that sentence.) Tips include natural hand sanitizers and my personal favorite, "Limit personal interaction." So stay inside and don't talk to anyone. Works for me.

I think this article from the New York Times implies that hobbits might be real. Well, not exactly, but people the size of hobbits.

Tired of having so many DVDs around the house? G.E. may have found a way to put 100 of them on one disc using holographic storage.

Finally, this odd item: "A jet normally used as Air Force One rattled windows and workers Monday morning. President Obama, who was not aboard, was reported to be furious." See, when you fly a plane over New York City and you get too close, we have bad memories. Apparently it was meant to be a "photo opportunity." Guys, a little advice: next time, just buy a postcard.

Image: Wikipedia

Swine Flu - Are You Worried About Your Kids?

7 Year Old Boy Forcibly Tattooed By Father

Fox News Hates Kids In Political Videos Except When They Don't

Giant Green Robot Comforting Sick Kids

JeanneSager — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:57:00 GMT

When you think of a creature sent to comfort kids, the first thing that comes to mind is a giant green robot with a nose like Horton, right? No? Me neither.

But Belgian scientists apparently think that's the way to go.

In order to help comfort sick children in Belgian hospitals, scientists have created a prototype robot with a long green nose that purrs when petted or hugged and says "ouch" when punched or hit. Dubbed Probo (as in proboscis), the robot has a touchscreen on his belly to explain to children the details of their impending medical procedures. His facial expressions are designed to change to intimate how the procedures will make the kids feel.

It sounds like an interesting idea, although Probo can't hug the kids back - which is why clowns (excuse me, I know some of you are freaked by them) and other visiting dressed up characters generally do a much better job of comforting kids. They're comfy!

The one advantage I do see in a robot is his lack of emotion when it comes to dealing with sick kids. Where adults explaining a medical procedure to a child - even trained medical procedures - can't help but react to the child's emotion, a robot is going to keep it nice and steady and just keep talking the kids through everything.

Still not sure I want a guy who looks like a cross between Horton the elephant and the incredible Hulk wandering around the pediatric ward (no, not scary at all, uh uh), but hey, they say they're still working on him. Maybe they can change out that nose. Get a look at pictures of him over at Reuters.

Image: Reuters

Apple To Release iPhone For Kids

Brett Singer — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Not satisfied with dominating the cellular phone market for adults, Apple will now try and corner the potentially lucrative child cellular phone space.

The only other major player in the kiddie cell arena is Firefly, a device that allows children to call only a few select people. The KiDPhone, on the other hand, will essentially be an iPhone, able to use all of the apps and games that have made Apple's so-called "Jesus Phone" such a hit with consumers.

"Children are more technologically capable that at any other time in history," Apple's founder Steve Jobs said in a press release. "By releasing the KiDPhone, we are enabling our loyal customers to share their favorite device with the whole family."

The KiDPhone will be slightly smaller to accommodate little hands. The smaller size will also hopefully lead to a lower price. The iPhone sells for as low as $199 with a service plan; presumably the kiddie version will cost less, although Apple hasn't announced pricing yet. No carrier either, but it will likely be AT&T again. (That's OK, since kids don't need reception that badly. Ba-dum-bum.)

No way am I buying this for my kids. Not only don't they need it (or any phone for that matter), they can break electronic equipment at 20 paces. I don't care if this thing comes encased in an unbreakable metal alloy, it would get broken in a week. Who needs the hassle?

Source

Baby Snuggie

Gloria Allred Sits On A Booster Seat

Surrogate Agency Disappears With Potential Parents Cash

TV Is Neither Good Nor Bad For Babies

Worksheets Die a Green Death, Kids Celebrate

JeanneSager — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:34:00 GMT

Oh what I wouldn't have given to skip worksheets in grade school. The totally useless (in a kid's mind anyway) busy work handed out by bored teachers to get us to sit down and shut up.

I guess I was just born a few decades too early. Sigh.

Teachers are saying bye bye to the worksheet in an effort to both cut costs and cut their carbon footprint, and today's kids are loving it.

They write their papers on a computer, read books on the computer, even do their homework on scanned PDFs available via the Internet. The teachers are finding themselves spending less time at the copy machine (or less time sending their assistants to the copy machine) and more time for classroom instruction or preparation for instruction. And the kids, they say, are more engaged. Used to cell phones, Wiis and constant electronic connections, being plugged in inside the classroom has meant better student engagement.

And, of course, there's that cost issue - even in better economic times, schools across the country could always used more money. Now, the financial issues are dire in some districts - where teachers have sold ad space on testpapers, administrators have called for kids to bring their own toilet paper and all classroom appliances have been yanked.

With kids learning about Twitter and Wikipedia in England and these efforts, are you worried our kids will never be able to unplug? Or are you just happy to see a greener planet that costs you less green?

Image/Source: Boston Herald

Brit Kids Learn to Twitter in School

JeanneSager — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:25:00 GMT

I racked my brain for a way to write about this in one hundred forty characters or less. Sorry, can't do it.

But in deference to the subject matter, I'll be brief.

Twitter and Wikipedia have been added to the curriculum at schools in Britain.

Oh, you want more? OK, then. The proposal is to have kids leave primary school with a familiarity with blogging, Twitter, Wikipedia and podcasts. They'll have to have fluency in using a keyboard and spell check . . . in addition to handwriting and actually learning to spell.

But it's not all about technology. The proposal also calls for less usage of calculators and more of a focus on life skills, including learning to handle peer pressure and develop relationships.

The teachers union has jumped all over the proposed changes, accusing the government of going with trends instead of evidence-based studies of how kids learn and what they need. "Computer skills and keyboard skills seem to be as important as handwriting in this. Traditional books and written texts are downplayed in response to web-based learning," said John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers.

As a writer who does a lot of her work on the Internet, I can't say I disagree with the plans. I love traditional books, I sit down with my daughter and read them every night. But I get my own news on the Web, and I expect she will too soon enough. I can't see a future where she won't need keyboard skills or the ability to navigate the net.

If this were your child's school, would you be protesting the changes or cheering them?

Image: Twitter

Morning News - The Obama Bracket

Brett Singer — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Monday Monday… Can't trust that day…

Actually, you kind of can trust Monday. It's fairly reliable in that it always comes after Sunday. I don't think that's what Mama Cass and Co. were talking about, but then again, it was the 60's, so who knows?

Anyone make an NCAA bracket? I did. I know nothing about college basketball, and my picks are proving it, especially in the Midwest Conference. At least there's no money at stake for me. President Obama made one, which is being resoundingly mocked by many. Some were upset that he even took the time to make his picks, which is hilarious if you consider the amount of vacation time that former President Bush took while in office. (I know, it's a cliché, but it happens to be true.) Taking a few minutes to fill out a bracket is a pleasant distraction from the day's events for everyone, Leaders of the Free World included. If people want to complain about Obama's policies, fine, but his bracket? Let it go.

Damn those blasphemy laws -- a Pennsylvania man tried to register a limited liability company called I Choose Hell Productions, LLC but was told he had to pick another name because PA has an anti-blasphemy law on the books preventing such things. The laws were common the 19th century, but this one was enacted in 1977 when someone tried to register God Damn Gun Shop. The ACLU is suing the state. Heh heh. God Damn Gun Shop... (NYT)

A revival of "West Side Story" opened on Broadway with some of the songs translated into Spanish. Interesting idea but I can't imagine that makes the songs better. Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter saw the show and agrees, as did many other critics. (Note: I haven't seen this production. I'll probably stick with the movie.)

The post office is in trouble. They lost almost 400 million dollars last quarter and are offering early retirement to 150,000 employees, in addition to staff cutbacks and location closures. Not enough people mailing letters I guess.

Susan MacDougal (remember her?) can't have the transcript of her own testimony in the Whitewater trial. She was hoping to use it for a novel or screenplay. Whitewater looks pretty damn tame compared to all the nonsense going on these days.

Some governors, including Nevada's Jim Gibbons, are turning down federal money to beef up their unemployment funds because they don't like the 'strings' that are attached. The thing is, those strings disappear when the federal cash runs out. (This according to a New York Times editorial.) Nevada will run out of unemployment money by the end of the year if they don't take the government cheese. (Nose, you don't mind if I cut you off to spite my face, do you? Cool, thanks.) You can't play games like this when people are out of work. And unemployment money gets taken out of your check every week for a reason. You get it back if you're unemployed. Hence the name. So it's not unreasonable for people to expect to receive that money if they lose their jobs. In other Republican Governor news, Alaska's Sarah Palin (perhaps you've heard of her?) is only accepting Federal money for projects that are truly "shovel ready." Alaska Democrats are not happy, saying that she is playing politics with state residents. There's definitely a shovel needed for what's coming out of the mouths of both Republicans and Democrats these days, but it's not the kind you use to fix roads.

Eliot Spitzer is talking smack about Andrew Cuomo. Hey! Here's an idea, Spitzy. Shut up. You have no credibility anymore. Sorry. You screwed up. Apologize and go away. Although maybe you can blog for Huffington Post like Gary "Monkey Business" Hart. ("G'head! Follow me! You won't find anything! Wait, you thought I meant that? I was only kidding! Aw, crap…")

Responding to Sheri's comment: I hadn't heard about what the President said on TV, so I looked it up. Seems that while being interviewed by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, President Obama said of his bowling skills, "It's like the Special Olympics or something." He apologized to the President of the Special Olympics before the show aired. Comments at ABC News' web site range from "who cares?" to "see? I told you he was an idiot." (I'm paraphrasing.) I can't say I agree with those who say that this is somehow on the same scale as other "gaffes" spoken by Republican politicians, or even "gaffes" from Democrats. Personally, I think the President is a little bit too much of a regular guy, at least in the way that he sometimes speaks in public. It was a dumb joke but hardly the worst thing ever. He also invited Special Olympians to the White House to do some bowling. There's one Special Olympic bowler who has three perfect games to his credit, so maybe he can give the Prez some pointers. By the way, Sarah Palin weighed in on the President's comments, because she's not all about politics like some politicians. This issue really effects Alaska, hence her very public reaction. Also: the President of the Special Olympics is Tim Shriver, Maria's brother, and therefore Ah-nuld's brother-in-law. That has nothing to do with anything except that I think it would be fun to have Arnold Schwarzenegger as your brother-in-law. The Governator, by the way, supports Obama's stimulus plan.

Tuesday, Tuesday… I trust that day… Nah, doesn't have the same ring to it. I guess John Phillips knew what he was talking about. See you tomorrow.

Image: WhiteHouse.gov via Washington Post

Morning News - Natasha Richardson Dies (UPDATE - Autopsy Information)

Morning News - March Madness or March Sadness?

Morning News - Cheney, Duct Tape, Outer Space

Open Letter To The Woman Who Pushed Me While I Was Picking Up My Kid

Back to the Third Grade for This 71-Year-Old

They Say: Old School Lice Checks Are All Wrong

UPDATE: Did M.I.A Really Name Her Baby Ickitt?

Why Teens Are Quick to Blame Rihanna

Keep This Kid Away From The Dog

Morning News - iPhone Gets Feature Other Phones Already Have

Brett Singer — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Updating yesterday's Natasha Richardson story: an autopsy reveals that she died of bleeding in the brain and "she might have survived had she received immediate treatment." The thing is, people with this sort of injury typically feel fine at first. So sad.

NBC is launching a show to compete with "American Idol." Simon Cowell probably thinks this is a "horrible" idea. ("Horrible" is one of the words he uses a lot, right?) On "Idol", Alexis Grace went home. She was shocked. Shocked. Why are they always so surprised? I guess you have think you're a major talent to get on TV and sing like that but just once it'd be fun to hear someone say, "Yeah, I suck. It was only a matter of time before I got the boot."

Why is Steve Wozniak on "Dancing With The Stars"? Based on this quote from his website, I guess the reason is because people said he wouldn't be able to do it. I wonder if Apple fans will keep voting for him the way football fans did with Jerry Rice. Woz has definitely been keeping in touch with his audience, accusing "Dancing" producers of rigging the voting in order to goose the ratings, then apologizing, all via his Facebook page. If this keeps up, I might actually have to watch the show.

Speaking of Apple, the new iPhone software will include bleeding edge features like the copying and pasting of text. What's that, your phone has been able to do that for years? Mine too. The iPhone is nifty but certain omitted features prove that Steve Jobs could probably sell water to a drowning Apple fan if it had that logo on it. (Personally, until the iPhone has an actual keyboard, I won't even consider buying one.)

Financial news update: stocks tanked and it wasn't CNBC's fault. Are you happy, Jeff Zucker?

Austrian monster dad Josef Fritzl was sentenced to life in a psych hospital. Life in prison would be better, but even though he could be paroled in 15 years, it's not likely to happen. The speed of the trial was kind of impressive; in the U.S., these things seem to take a lot longer. I'm sure there's a reason for that but I don't know what it is.

And finally, there were a heck of a lot of babies born in 2007. Madeline points out that it wasn't Octomom's fault -- "she only gave birth to one baby that year."

That's all for now. Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday.

Image: Woz.org

New Baby Boom

Morning News - March Madness or March Sadness?

Morning News - Cheney, Duct Tape, Outer Space

Jimmy Kimmel And The Octomom

Microsoft Says Computer's So Easy a Kid Can Do It

JeanneSager — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:53:00 GMT

It's supposed to answer all those Apple claims that PCs aren't user-friendly with the simple premise - Microsoft has made it so even a kid can do it. Does that mean the computers got easier or kids just got a whole lot smarter?

It doesn't become clear that the four-and-a-half-year-old taking a picture with a digital camera, uploading it, using editing software and e-mailing her shot off to her parents is an advertisement for Windows until the tail end. Considering they're signing middle aged folks up for college classes in how to use Facebook, maybe this is just the right approach. You might be completely computer illiterate, but your four-year-old can figure it out!

Except, parents - who, it can be argued, are more likely to tune in to commercials featuring kids - are more and more computer literate these days. At least the parents of kids whose ages fall in the range of the new Microsoft "rookies" commercial stars (four-and-a-half and seven). The nineties hinting that if you can't figure out your cell phone, you can always call your kid in to do it has been replaced - by those "kids" of the early nineties HAVING kids in the new millennium. Even so-called "older" parents are more likely to be computer literate; because while they were waiting to have children, they were working . . . in a corporate environment where computers are ubiquitous. I highly doubt President Obama called on Malia the first time he unleashed that Crackberry.

Of course kids in 2009 might be even more technologically savvy than their parents were as teens in the early nineties. Many of us wonder if our kids would recognize us without the glow of a computer screen forming a halo 'round our heads, and just yesterday my three-year-old grabbed the USB cord to my iPod and slipped it directly into the slot on the PC tower - no questions asked. Just like Microsoft's rookies, apparently she too is a PC.

If you've got a decent-enough handle on computer literacy, do you think your kids are gaining on you?

Image: Microsoft

Can Your Kid Doodle the Google Doodle?

JeanneSager — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:31:00 GMT

They've got down Noggin's doodle of the day, so can they doodle the Google doodle? And can you say that three times fast?

Google (yes, THE Google) opened up its second annual kids art contest this week to find the American school kid who will draw the logo rendition seen on the site's homepage.

With more than one hundred million daily site views, that means your kid could become an artist whose talents are appreciated by, well, one hundred million folks in one day.

The Doodle 4 Google contest is open to kids in kindergarten through twelfth grade (ages five through eighteen), and it's as open as their imaginations. The basic theme is "What I Wish for the World," which seems just right for a kid's contest - after all, their wishes are tomorrow's future (cue the cheesy music).

Last year's winner was Grace Moon, a middle schooler from Castro Valley, Calif. "My doodle, "Up in the Clouds," expresses a world in the sky," she told the judges. "This new world is clean and fresh, and people are social and enlightened. Every person here is treated as family no matter who they are. The bright sun heats this ideal place with warmth, love, and brightens everyone's day"

She earned the day's prime spot on the Doodle site plus a scholarship. This year, the national winner walks away with $15,000 for college, a trip Google's New York offices, a laptop and a t-shirt with their doodle. The kid's school will earn a $25,000 technology grant to be used in the school computer lab.

Another three national finalists will get the Google New York trip and laptop, plus their doodle on a Google tee, while the thirty-six regional winners get the tee and the trip (sorry, no computer). The company has added a District Quality Participation Prize of $10,000 for a school district that encourages "high quality participation." Also geared toward improving the school's technology, the grant must be used on the computer lab.

So whether your kid's a pint-sized Picasso or your school district just really, really needs the help, check out last year's winners (by age group) for some inspiration, then tell your kids to get doodling (registration is required by March 17, and the doodles have to be in by March 31).

Image: Google

Announcing Pregnancy Via Facebook Status Update: Tech Savvy or Totally Impersonal?

Jen Chaney — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:58:00 GMT

In a world where Erykah Badu Twitters her home birth, a single mother gets hired and fired on Facebook and a guy can propose marriage in Tweet form, the notion of announcing a pregnancy via Facebook status update seems kind of, well, quaint.

I mean, already plenty of people offer running commentaries on every mundane thing they do via status updates: "Decided to have soup for dinner. 5 minutes ago." "I am now opening the can. 2 minutes ago." "I am trying to pour contents of can into a pot, but having trouble. Perhaps it's because I am incessantly updating status while cooking. 30 seconds ago." It only seems natural to share a major announcement in the same way, right? Well, maybe...

A Facebook status update (or, yes, a Tweet) is probably the fastest way to disseminate information. But shouldn't really special, a few-times-in-a-lifetime news be shared in a more personal way? Should we say, "Hey, we're having a baby!" in the same space that we announced we had a headache at 2:07 p.m. on Jan. 18, or proclaimed at 10:37 p.m. on Jan. 30 that the new U2 song is "catchy but also kinda stupid"?

Here's my view on this: I think a Facebook-pregnancy-announcement is perfectly appropriate IF close family and friends already have been told. Imagine finding out that your best friend -- the one who tried unsuccessfully for years to conceive -- has finally gotten pregnant, simply by happening upon a congratulatory post on her Facebook Wall. Would sting a bit, right?

As for the more distant friends and acquaintances -- all those former co-workers and random old buddies from junior high -- it's totally fine for them to hear the news on Facebook, I think. (Just don't stick this Baby Ticker app on your page before updating aforementioned status accordingly. I mean, that's just jumping the gun. Assuming, of course, you can get the app to work.)

We're all living our lives in glass, WiFi-ready houses these days. But that doesn't mean that etiquette -- or old-fashioned things like phone calls and big announcements made at the dinner table -- are dead. We just have to work harder to keep them alive.

Think I'm totally offbase? Write a comment and keep this dialogue going. Or better yet: Update your Facebook status to say that Jen Chaney's opinions about pregnancy and Facebook updates are completely idiotic.

Related Links:

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Your Assignment for This Weekend

Madeline Holler — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Even if you don't get cable TV -- and no judgment if you don't! -- you won't likely be negatively affected by the upcoming digital TV conversion. Why not? Because you're at least minimally tech savvy (you're reading a website, so I'm just assuming ...) and you're television is probably from this millennium.

But know who will be affected? Your grandma, her friends, maybe that old guy who lives one floor down. Anybody who is not familiar with software menus and a little tech talk. Because no matter what those public service announcements say, converting to digital is NOT that simple.

Just plug and go, right? No. Not at all. You plug and then go ... to a menu of options with lots of different terms like "analog" and "digital" and "scanning for channels" and "do you want to quit" and then a bunch of other stuff even you don't know the function of. To even get to the menu of options that I am invisioning many seniors won't understand anyway, you have to know where to find a menu. Also, they'll need to use a remote for the digital box, not the familiar one that came with their now ancient TV.

Everything you hear about the problems with the conversion focus on the $40 coupons now no longer available to offset the cost of the digital box. What doesn't get mentioned are this middle steps, which won't be intuitive to many of the folks affected.

So why am I writing about this on a parenting website? Because grandparents and that old guy are/were/might be parents too. And anyway, we're the sandwich generation -- we take care of kids AND adults. So you need to check and make sure the aging adults you know are all set to go. You need to walk them through it over the phone or spend some very frustrating minutes over at their house, in front of that dinosaur in a wooden cabinet, getting them all set up.

Also, even with the digital box, if they were using an antenna before, they'll need it now more than ever. A lot of the digital signals are in need of boosting, which will cost money and isn't likely to happen. So expect some channels to no longer come in.

Congress has really downplayed this and I think made a mistake by not delaying the conversion. Sure, a lot of people will just bail and get cable. But in this economy, some people can't or won't.

The only thing sadder than an old person who sits around watching TV all day is an old person watching a blank screen all day.

There, I said my piece. Now go do your thing!

Photo: NYTimes.com

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Does Your Toddler Need a Cell Phone?

editors — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Here’s how a typical phone conversation between one of my youngest nephews and I goes:

Me: Hi! It’s Aunt Lindsay.

Him: Hi. (Long silence.)

Me: What are you doing right now?

Him: (Long silence. Heavy breathing. Crunching noises.)

Me: Are you eating something? Are you playing?

Him: Hi. (More silence followed by more heavy breathing.)

Me: Are you still there? Can you put your mom back on the phone? Where’s your mom?

Him: (Loud crash as the phone hits the floor. Pattering of little feet as he runs off to play.)

Me: (Calling out to my sister-in-law) Kristen? Kristen? Are you there?

Once I needed to tell my sister-in-law something really important and she put him on to say hi to me first. He dropped the phone, she forgot all about me and I ended up spending the next two hours calling back and getting a busy signal because the phone was, no doubt, still lying in the same position on the floor.

So I was truly bewildered today when I was reading the Daily Buzz and came across a posting called New Toddler Cell Phone. The phone features large, brightly colored buttons and is capable of holding 200 pre-programmed numbers (this just made me feel bad about myself as I don’t think I have that many numbers in my phone).

I feel like toddlers show little interest in having real phone conversations. They are probably just as happy, nay happier, talking on those toy phones that call their favorite Sesame Street characters, as they would be gabbing with their real-life friends, but maybe I am wrong. If you’d like to weight in on this topic, visit CaféMom and take their poll.

No matter what your opinion, I think we should all prepare ourselves for a new generation of toddlers, riding around in strollers and whipping out candy-colored Blackberrys to schedule their own play dates.

(Image from pro.corbis.com)

GPS Lingerie Upsets Some, Entices Others

Brett Singer — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Parents everywhere worry about how to keep track of their daughters.

Brazilian lingerie maker Lucia Lorio has the answer to your prayers – GPS lingerie!

OK, any parent who would buy something like this for their daughter (or son for that matter) should receive a visit from Child Services. But The Daily Mail says that "feminists around the world have reacted with horror" to the location-aware undies. They think it feels too much like a, "modern-day, high-tech chastity belt."

You may not be surprised to learn that the manufacturer feels differently. "This collection... is a wink to women and a challenge to men because, even if she gives him the password to her GPS, she can always turn it off," says the designer. He thinks these dopey undergarments are for the "modern, techno-savvy woman."

Ladies, would you ever wear something like this? And guys, would you buy this for your woman?

Source/Image: Daily Mail

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They Say: Technology Keeps Families Connected

Amy Kuras — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:02:00 GMT

If you’re reading this, it’s no surprise to you that people use mobile phones and internet connections to reinforce their social ties. That’s borne out by a new study from the Pew Internet and American Life project.

And it’s the most traditional families, with two married adults and minor kids – that are most likely to have cell phones and net connections.

More than half of families surf the Internet with their children, as well. Of course – why else would there be so many Sesame Street clips available on YouTube? It can’t all be nostalgic Gen Xers and Ys, right?

Also, of couples with two mobile phones, 70 percent use it at least once a day to talk to their spouse, and 42 percent talk to their kids via mobile at least once a day – a figure which I find low, personally, since I don’t actually remember how I used to grocery shop without calling my husband about five times to ask him questions and update him on my whereabouts, and he does the same when he’s on kid duty.

More than half, 53 percent, of those questioned said that the quality of their contact with distant family members had improved thanks to technology, while 47 percent said it improved interaction with those they live with.

Where’s all that time to surf and chat coming from? Mostly TV watching – 25 percent of people say they watch less TV now. I’d have to agree – I am usually surfing and blogging and watching TV all at once.

So, to sum up – technology good. Who knew?

Photo: dvorak.org

iPhone app for nursing, diapers, wedding day

Brett Singer — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Actually, these are all separate apps, and are not necessarily to be used in that order. (Not that there's anything wrong with doing things in that order, of course.)

Proving that the iPhone is good for more than just viewing dopey YouTube videos, ANDESigned has released iPhone apps to help busy parents remember that the kid is hungry, smelly, and oh yeah, shouldn't you be married?

Here are the apps:

- Baby Tracker: Diapers
"With the tap of a button, Baby Tracker: Diapers records everything you need to keep track of concerning this “stinky” part of child rearing! Forget about journaling, lists and charts...Baby Tracker: Diapers does the remembering for you!"

Me, I didn't keep track of any of this stuff, but if I did, this seems like it would be an easy way to do it. At 99 cents, it's actually cheaper than some notebooks.

- Baby Tracker: Nursing
This more expensive ($7.99) app "keeps track of your nursing sessions with just a few clicks, allowing you to relax and focus on feeding your baby without worrying about lists and sheets of paper, stop-watches and safety pins in your bra, or extraneous ribbons and bracelets!" This one I admit to being totally ignorant about, so I ask the readers: is this something nursing mothers keep track of, which breast, etc.? To my completely untrained eye, it always looked like the schedule was partly dictated by baby hunger, and partly by reality (must… get… milk… out… NOW…).

This feature is interesting: "Multiple baby support (up to 6), with names and easy switching (slide your finger left or right)." Is it possible to nurse that many babies? That's a LOT of milk.

- Wedding Day
Again, the order these are listed in is probably accidental, but with teen pregnancy being much in the news of late, it's sort of funny that Wedding Day comes after diapers and nursing.

This app (not yet available) will cost 99 cents, and seems to be arguably the most useful in terms of helping someone to organize things. I found my wedding plans to be incredibly complicated, and most of my involvement was limited to, "If we use that band, I’m not coming."

Any iPhone users out there planning on trying these apps?

See also: techmamas, Gizmodo, daddytypes

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You Might Like Wall-E But Don't Trust Him With Your Kids

Kelly Mills — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:58:00 GMT

Robots have kind of a mixed rep. From loveable, cuddly characters to cold killing machines, it's clear we have some ambivalence about what it means to have this kind of technology in our lives and on the horizon. While I personally have a strange affection for robots, I can see how others are raising the alarms. So parents, would you let a robot watch your children?

You may have to make this decision sooner rather than later, because robots are being developed for use in schools, and will potentially be here to babysit your brood in the not-so-distant future. So what do you think? I mean, if you read the Derby, you probably believe our current system of having humans care for their own offspring and the offspring of others is not without flaws. But should it concern us that robots may be responsible for teaching our kids? (Gasp! You mean a machine might sometimes act as a babysitter? Say it ain't so!) What will that do for their emotional development? Our society? Are the robot wars inevitable? Do tell.

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Weekly Check-Up: Wii Fit Gets Pumped

Kelly Mills — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:31:00 GMT

In case you haven't heard, Wii Fit is going to be released next month, and it's already a huge hit in Japan, according to CNN. Is it going to replace the exercise video and save our children from obesity? Well, it's being touted as the next big thing in part because it has a sensor-riddled balance board that tracks and analyzes your movements. It will assess your fitness using your Body Mass Index (BMI--a measure I despise, BTW) and then it will run you through some drills to see how you do. After that, you can choose from a bunch of games focusing on strength training, aerobics, balance games and yoga. Wii Fit will also track your progress over time.

Now maybe it's just me, but that article sounds more like a press release than reporting. I have no idea if Wii Fit is any good, and as someone who actually likes playing video games, I imagine I'll find out, and who knows, I might love it. I know early versions of the boxing minus the balance board were kinda crappy, and not much like actual boxing. That might not matter if your goal is just doing some physical activity, but I'd rather go live and get actual skills on some things. I also wonder if the board is going to be enough to assess things like proper form, crucial for avoiding injury. However, if you do a workout video or crowded class, you probably aren't getting that instruction anyway, so that's nothing unique to the Wii. As with anything and everything fitness-y, if it helps you engage in consistent and regular physical activity, then it's probably gonna be a good thing for you.

The Internet is Not the Devil

Kelly Mills — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:31:00 GMT

It seems that every generation views bashing the up-and-coming one as a kind of sport, and this one is no exception. Where older folks once lamented rock music and long hair as markers of the end of civilization, now we have teenagers who are ignorant and narcissistic and spend so much time online that they can no longer interact with real people in the real world. Well, Emily Goldwasser at Salon isn't buying it, and she says the internet is not a danger and a disaster for our kids. She's responding in part to a phone survey of teens that showed a "stunning ignorance" of history and literature.

Boy, does she make some good points in this excellent article: She highlights that with blogs and social networking sites, we now have a generation of kids who are (gasp) voluntarily writing. The internet has "created a generation, perhaps the first, of writers, activists, storytellers" and all our screaming isn't going to stop that juggernaut. In addition, the kids today also know how to find information online, and therefore google has freed up their brains to dig deeper into topics. The real problem, it seems, is that this makes us very nervous. "We're afraid. Our kids know things we don't. They drove the presidential debates onto YouTube and very well may determine the outcome of this election. They're texting at the dinner table and responsible for pretty much every enduring consumer cultural phenomenon: iPod, iTunes, iPhone; Harry Potter, 'High School Musical'; large hot drinks with gingerbread flavoring." You know, I do believe she's right. I just hope when my kid is a teen, she'll have my back.

Boobies! Boobies! Boobies! Bouncing Back!

Adrienne Martini — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Here at Strollederby, we're all about the boobs. No, not that way, pervs.

Our boob love is directed at those who know how to support them. No, still not that way, pervs.

Our hearts go out to those who do research about how a woman's chestular area moves during exercise, those who are designing super strong fabric for sports bras and even to the highly bizarre bounce-o-meter.

But for sheer hypnotic pleasure, the Bounce Test Sports Bra Videos are a sight to behold - and I thank Leslie at iVillage for pointing them out. Not only have I learned quite a bit about how different brands lift and separate, I feel like the running woman has become a close girlfriend.

I've never seen her face. Her boobs, however, I could pick out of a line-up.

Photo credit: AP

The Babysitter Of The Future Here Today

makeitadouble — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:30:00 GMT

For thousands of years Moms and Dads have looked for creative babysitting solutions that would enable them a few hours of relaxing smoochy boochy down time together away from the kids for anything from a Brontosaurus Burger to a game of Scattergories and a couple bottles of wine with friends. Some of these solutions in hindsight may not have been the safest of arrangements like entrusting the children to a domesticated pet dinosaur, the Little Drummer Boy, Robin William’s in drag or Elisabeth Shue, but every so often an idea comes along that is so brilliant in its simplicity it makes you kick yourself for not coming up with it first.

AdventureDad over at The Blog Fathers has discovered a way to leverage the power of emerging technology and peer-to-peer online telephony and video conferencing to act as a babysitter and it won’t swipe booze from your liquor cabinet. The babysitter's name is Skype and here’s how AdventureDad uses it to “…have some nice food, a few bottles of wine, and still keep track of sleeping children.”

In his words…“Our friends come over around 6 p.m. so the kids can play for a couple of hours while we chat and cook some food. At 8 p.m. one of them go right across the hall to their apartment and put the little one to sleep while we put our two kids down. Our neighbor then fires up his Macbook/Macbook Pro, gets on a wireless network, and calls our computer from his/her apartment via Skype.” He says they can both see and hear the little ones and also that the sound quality and sensitivity is amazing.

Now before you Naysayers and Worrywarts start saying “Nay!”, showing me your warts and decrying this idea as negligent AdventureDad explains that his neighbors live directly across the hall. Is this really any different than parents setting up an audio-only baby monitor in the upstairs nursery while they’re downstairs? Besides, isn’t it about time technology started pulling its weight around here? And who knows, this use of Web 2.0 software to help raise our kids may just be the tip of the iceberg.

I’m still trying to figure out how to get Twitter to change a diaper.

iPods Used To Carry Unborn Babies

makeitadouble — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:30:00 GMT

Has the interminable televising of the commercial for the new iPod Nano with Video created such an earworm from that warbling “1-2-3-4 tell me that you love me more” song that once it burrowed into your cerebral cortex you caved and finally bought one? Well now that you’ve dumped $200 on it you’ve got to upload some videos to create that kick-ass play list.

The White Stripes “Conquest” video needs to be included and so does the Foo Fighters “Long Road to Ruin” but the most important addition to any worthwhile playlist is a 4-D moving ultrasound video scan of your fetus in utero.

A London hospital is now offering real time high-tech 4D scans (3D in motion) to expectant mothers and posting the high-definition results on a secure website available for download to CD, DVD, MP3 players and mobile phones. No word yet on making the baby’s heartbeat available as a ring tone.

What’s really exciting about this technology, that’s certain to be more widely available stateside as soon as Apple figures out a way to make the videos available through iTunes at $1.99 per download, is that parents will no longer have to shove grainy black and white 2D ultrasound print outs of their unborn children into the faces of co-workers and friends. Now they/we can shove our hip iPods and iPhones in their faces or at least post the video to YouTube and mass email the link to the entire company directory.

The 4D ultrasound equipment works similarly traditional 2D scanners except the waves are directed from multiple angles thus providing enough information to generate a moving image when the waves are reflected back. However, and you can file this under information Steve Jobs doesn’t want you to know, studies have shown that ultrasounds can produce physical effects to uterine tissue such as vibrations and increased temperature therefore the medical community discourages the use of ultrasounds unless it is medically necessary.

Poor little vibrating Suri Cruise.

I’m just wondering if birth announcements of the future are going to include File Size in MB, Duration, and Album Title.